Rail link to Devanahalli on the cards

Rail link to Devanahalli on the cards
The Times of India

Bangalore: A rail link connecting Byapanahalli to Devanahalli international airport will come up if plans of the state infrastructure department comes through.

Sources said a proposal for the 30-km project is likely to go before the cabinet in the next couple of days. The proposal contains various modes of options and alignments. The infrastructure department is leaving all planning, including alignment and gauge, to be decided by the group undertaking the project. The link will mostly be a Metro Rail link, the sources said. But the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) is not likely to handle the project. The project will take a minimum of three years. The airport may be commissioned much before the link comes up, if at all. The link to Devanahalli is a key aspect since the new airport will be situated far from the city. Road transport may become tedious given the city’s heavy traffic and narrow roads.

The project alignment planned between Byapanahalli and Devanahalli will traverse through K R Puram, cut across the Outer Ring Road and go along the expressway route between K R Puram and Devanahalli.

The government has to acquire the land depending on the gauge they would decide for the project to commence. While a section of the project will have to traverse through already developed areas, where land acquisition may become difficult, a large portion of the alignment would be on the median of the expressway.

Sources also said the government is keeping various technology options in mind including Metro Rail, Mono Rail and suburban system, but the decision will depend on whether they decide to go according to the Railway Act or the open option like the Bangalore Metro Rail project.